Instead, he was cremated with no music or flowers allowed at Southport Crematorium at 10 p.m. and cremated in their back-up incinerator, which means nobody else had to be cremated in the same machine.

His remains were placed in an urn made of solid Himalayan rock salt, which is designed to dissolve a few hours after submersion.

They were then driven to Liverpool Marina in a boat which sailed out to an undisclosed location in the dead of night. At 2.30 a.m., Brady's ashes were dropped off the side. By now there will be no detectable trace of his remains.

Along with his partner Myra Hindley (who died in 2002), Brady sexually assaulted and killed five children during the 1960s. They disposed of four bodies around Saddleworth Moor, which is why they became known as the Moors Murders.

The disposal at sea was carried out on October 25, but only became public knowledge on Friday when court documents describing it were released. Business Insider has seen the documents and confirmed their contents.

A joint statement from Tameside and Oldham councils, which organised the burial, said the body had been "disposed of in a manner that did not cause offence and distress to the public, and particularly the relatives of the victims who reside in our boroughs."